Ballet on an epic scale - heroic dancing, a heartbreaking love story and magnificent music

Spartacus is a name that has echoed down the centuries as a symbol of resistance to oppression and injustice: the gladiator who defied the power of the Roman Republic and died fighting for freedom. The story was immortalised in dance in Yuri Grigorovich’s Spartacus, which was created for the Bolshoi in 1968 and has become famed as a pinnacle of Soviet ballet.

The work returns to the grandeur and decadence of ancient Rome, with all the excitement and sensuality of the era. The production is celebrated for its heroic male dancing—soaring leaps and powerful lifts make Spartacus and his adversary, the Roman general Crassus, two of the greatest male roles in ballet history. The women match them in force: Spartacus’ wife, Phrygia, is heartrending in her fear and grief, while Crassus’ scheming mistress, Aegina, produces feats of virtuosity to rival the men.

These roles demand not only breathtaking technique but superb acting, contrasting the courage and humanity of Spartacus and Phrygia with the cruelty and lust for power of Crassus and Aegina through vivid characterisation and Grigorovich’s choreography.

Aram Khachaturian’s score is among the finest composed for ballet, and its Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia, often performed in concert, is one of the most recognised melodies in the repertoire. The production preserves the complete Grigorovich choreography with the original scenic and costume designs. Kazakhstan’s Astana Opera Theater is Central Asia’s largest opera house, and its ballet troupe, under Artistic Director Altynai Asylmuratova, is among the few companies with the calibre to mound Spartacus. In the pit, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra brings Khachaturian’s orchestral writing to life, its weight and warmth inseparable from the drama unfolding on stage.

Fifty years ago, the Bolshoi Theater hosted the premiere of the ballet Aram Khachaturian by the Soviet composer Spartak staged by Yuri Grigorovich. By that time, Igor Moiseev and Leonid Yakobson had already presented their stage incarnations of this score. However, it was “Spartak” of Grigorovich that became the hallmark of the theater and the Soviet ballet as a whole.